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EHTER provides an overview of environmental health topics, issues, and challenges faced during emergency response and recovery. The purpose of the course is to increase the level of emergency preparedness of environmental health practitioners and other emergency response personnel by providing them with the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources to address the environmental health impacts of emergencies and disasters.

Background

Several assessments have demonstrated the need for emergency preparedness and response education and training for environmental health practitioners. However, there is currently no national, comprehensive, standardized education and training program in this area.

CDC strives to make EHTER available to the environmental health workforce at the state, local, tribal, and territorial levels. To help ensure that this critical component of the public health workforce has the training they need, the EHTER Awareness Level course is available for free through the National Environmental Health Association (registration is required).

Thousands of environmental health practitioners from the United States and around the world have successfully completed EHTER. Post-training test scores have consistently shown marked improvement of preparedness knowledge over pre-training test scores. Participant feedback has been very positive and has led to continuous improvements in the training. Participants have also demonstrated real-world application of the concepts and information learned, improving response and recovery capacities during actual emergencies and disasters such as power outages, a train derailment with release of hazardous materials, tornadoes, and wildfires.

Several states, including Florida, Arizona, California, Louisiana, and West Virginia, have adopted the EHTER curricula and delivered courses for their environmental health practitioners.

Next Steps

CDC experts are working closely with FEMA/CDP in Anniston, Alabama, to develop an EHTER blended learning approach that includes

Transportation, lodging, and meals are provided by FEMA/CDP to students from state, local, and tribal jurisdictions at no cost to their agencies. For more details about EHTER courses being offered at CDP, please visit https://cdp.dhs.gov/training/program/hh/#ehter ops.

CDC experts are also working closely with the International Federation of Environmental Health to develop and deliver EHTER-based courses and workshops internationally. For more information, please visit http://www.ifeh.org/ehdm/index.html.

Testimonials

“Excellent course, I attended in August and two other staff from our Environmental Health Division have attended as well and agree it was a valuable and interesting course.”John Alden, R.S. Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program Manager, Yuma County Public Health Services District

“I feel very fortunate to have attended the EHTER course when I did. … the CSX train derailment in Madison County on March 12, 2007, served as a prime example of why we need to be prepared for such emergencies. … The concepts covered during the EHTER course were very helpful during the emergency and our subsequent response activities…we hope to secure the same training for all county environmental health staff as well as other public health staff and emergency responders.”Geoffrey Snyder, Environmental Health Director in Madison County, New York

Additional Information

For more information and resources related to environmental health emergency response, visit the CDC Emergency and Terrorism Preparedness for Environmental Health Practitioners Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/ETP.

For more information and resources related to Environmental Health Services (EHS), visit the CDC EHS Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs.